Northeastern women’s soccer team spent almost their entire season searching for their first win. After kicking off against Boston University Aug. 18, the Huskies faced a series of narrow losses and ties before their first win against the Drexel Dragons Oct. 13, nearly two months later. Gaps in defense and struggles to convert offensively defined the Huskies’ gameplay this season, resulting in well-played soccer, but disappointing results.
Graduate student defender Faith Rosenblatt commanded Northeastern’s backline, winning key tackles and 50-50 balls and sending long passes forward to the attacking line. Graduate student defenders Addison Davis and Jayden Newkirk, as well as senior defender Natalie Olsen, also created critical plays from the back and used the sidelines to contribute offensively, producing goals, assists and threatening balls towards the box. However, the team struggled to find the back of the net, so despite having a solid defense, a single breakaway from the opposition often put Northeastern down on the scoreboard.
The Huskies’ first 14 games were a series of ties and losses. Northeastern went down 4-0 in back-to-back losses against Harvard and University of Massachusetts, and fell 6-1 to Brown. The rest of the defeats, however, were games that were clinched on just a couple key plays.
Northeastern got its first win against Drexel Oct. 13 in a 1-0 game, and the subsequent win against Campbell was also a shutout, 4-0. These two first wins of the season provided some hope for the Huskies as playoffs approached, but it ultimately was not enough to get the team through, as their final games against Stony Brook and Delaware Oct. 24 and 27 ended in another loss and tie, respectively.
As the last line of defense, Northeastern’s goalkeepers were put under significant pressure this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Eliza Teplow dominated the goal line this season, and despite Northeastern’s record, put on a very strong performance. Many of the Huskies’ ties were a result of the consistently strong goaltending seen all season by Teplow, as well as graduate student goalkeeper Sophie Theresia Augustin. Augustin put on a key performance against the College of Charleston Oct. 3, tallying seven saves to end the game at 0-0.
Up the field, fifth-year midfielder and captain Jessie Hunt commanded the attack and was a primary instigator of offensive opportunities. This season, Hunt achieved a program record of 26 career assists, and finished with 17 shots on goal and four goals. Alongside Hunt, junior midfielders Ava Nace, Maggie Cochran and Lauren DuPont were dangerous in the attacking third. Graduate student midfielder Bri Jablonowski was also crucial in the midfield, finding gaps for through balls and generating goal-scoring opportunities. The Huskies’ midfield connected well throughout the season, switching the field successfully and finding through balls to the forwards.
Senior forward Avery LeVangie was an offensive leader this season, scoring two goals in the win against Campbell and making countless runs down the sidelines to put balls into the box. Hunt also pushed out of the midfield to contribute to the attack, alongside graduate student forward Sofie Fox, junior forward Lauren Ahles and senior forward Rose Kaefer.
Hunt and LeVangie finished the season as top scorers, with four goals each, and 17 and 15 shots on goal, respectively. Cochran joined them on the assists leaderboard, with all three players tallying four assists. Teplow topped off the goalkeeping leaderboard with 45 saves, followed by Augustin with 31.
With the conclusion of this season, Northeastern will be saying goodbye to ten players: LeVangie, Kaefer, Davis, Rosenblatt, Jablonowski, Olsen, Fox and Hunt, as well as forward Megan Putvinksi and defender Katherine Marchesseault.
As they look ahead to next fall, the Huskies will need to focus on generating passing sequences in the final third, closing gaps in the midfield and capitalizing offensively.
